Dye setting machine



Aug. 26, 1969 J. SERBIN DYE SETTING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 OriginalFiled June 19, 1964 INVENTOR JAC08 SEREIA/ &

ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 26, 1969 I J. SERBIN 3,452,977

DYE "SETTING MACHINE Original Filed June 19, 1964 v a Sheets-Sheet 56uwzwron 4 JA coa sum/1v ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 26, 1969 J. SERBIN 3,462,977

I DYE SETTING MACHINE Original Filed June 19, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR JA C08 .S'E/PB/N ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 26, 1969 J. SERBIN DYE SET'IING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet OriginalFiled June 19, 1964 lNVE/VTOR JACOB saw/Iv er m A r TOR/V6 rs.

Aug. 6, 1969 J. SERBIN 3,462,977 r DYE SETTING MACHINE INVENTOR JACOBSERB/IV ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 26, 1 969 SERBW 3,462,977

' DYE SETTING MACHINE Original Filed June 19, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet '8FIG. /.5

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/56 V i J INVENTOR JA C08 SERB/IV 3 er 2 I M & W

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,462,977 DYE SETTING MACHINE Jacob Serbin,Cedarbrook Hill Apartments, Wyncote, Pa. 19095 Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 380,740, June 19, 1964. This application May 28,1968, Ser. No. 732,576

Int. Cl. D06f 37/00 US. Cl. 68-5 26 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Amachine for treating fabrics comprising an entrance chamber, an exitchamber, and a plurality of conduits connecting said entrance and exitchambers. The conduits are in fluid communication with the entrance andexit chambers, and the fabric follows a tortuous path through saidconduits by passing from said entrance chamber through one of saidconduits to the exit chamber, around a roller in the exit chamber, backthrough a second of the conduits to the entrance chamber, and backthrough a third of the conduits to said exit chamber.

This application is a continuation of my co-pending application Ser. No.380,740, filed June 19, 1964, now abandoned.

This invention relates to an apparatus for treating textile webs. Moreparticularly it relates to a machine for setting the dye on continuousnarrow belts of fabric.

One of the principal uses of the machine of this invention is for thesetting of dyes on fabric which will subsequently be made intoautomotive and airplane seat belts. This seat belt fabric is normally anarrow web of synthetic fibers, such as nylon fibers or Dacron polyesterfibers. One of the major problems of the synthetic fibers, either in thedyeing of the seat belt webs or any other fabric made from the fibers,is that the fibers will not absorb dyes. Therefore any dyeing must takeplace at the surface of the fibers. A new field of dyeing is now beingdeveloped with the production of dyes which will react with the surfaceof synthetic fibers to give a permanent coloring. These dyes aregenerally referred to as reactive dyes. These dyes are discussed indetail in the article beginning on page 80 of the December 1962 issue ofTextile World Magazine.

The normal method of using the reactive or the other synthetic fiberdyes in the past has been to first pad dye the fabric, dry it, and thenset the dye either with saturated steam or by baking at a hightemperature. Both of the dye-setting procedures of the prior art hadtheir disadvantages. The setting with live saturated steam atatmospheric pressure was a long process and the setting was not alwaysas complete as desired. The setting with dry heat many times stopped thedyeing process and again the amount of setting was not as great as thatdesired.

Using the apparatus of this invention, the dye setting speed is greatlincreased. Additionally, the dye is fixed on the fiber to a far greaterextent than that obtainable with the prior art methods.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel dyesetting machine.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a machine for settindye under superatmospheric pressure.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a machine which canalternatively be used for the dry setting of dye, the setting of dyewith live steam, or the setting of dye with superheated steam.

"ice

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel textilemachine which is operable under superatmospheric pressure.

These and other objects of this invention are accomplished by providinga machine comprising a housing, a sealed textile path within saidhousing, means for introducing a fluid under pressure within said sealedpath, seal means on said housing through which said fabric will passwhen entering said path and when leaving said path, and guide means forguiding said fabric through said housing along said path.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered incombination with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the dye setting machine of thisinvention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the process of dyeing using the machineof this invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 and 4A comprise a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG.3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG.4A;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of one of the pressure seals of the machineof this invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of one of the plates of the pressure sealshown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 10-10 of FIG.9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a modified form of the pressure seal ofthe machine of this invention;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of one of the plates of the pressure sealof FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line 13-13 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view taken along the line 14-14 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a top plan view of a bank of pressure seals of this inventionshown in association with an air equalization chamber; and

FIG. 16 is a top plan view of a portion of the electric resistanceheaters used in the machine of this invention.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawingswherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, a dyesetting machine embodying the present invention is generally shown at 20in FIG. 1.

The dye setting machine 20 is used in a process for dyeing continuouswebs of fabric 22. The process is shown schematically in FIG. 2 andincludes pad dyeing 24, dye setting 20, washing and rinsing 26, drying28,

cooling 30, resin padding 32, a two-step resin euro 34,

and resin cooling 36.

By way of specific examples, continuous web of fabric 22 can be fiveparallel narrow webs, as shown in FIG. 2. As previously pointed out, themachine and method of this invention find particular utility with thedyeing of webs of fabric which will subsequently be made into automotiveand aircraft seat belts. In the process of this invention the webs areheld under high tension. For example, when using a 2 /2 inch width web,the tension throughout the process varies from 400 to 500 pounds persquare inch. The tension is obtained by using driven draw rollers at thevarious stations throughout the process. In this way the tension caneasily be kept constant or varied at each step of the process. Bycarrying the process out under tension, the web is prevented fromshrinking during the process. Additionally the elongation of the finalweb is kept at a minimum. Thus, webbing produced according to theprocess of this invention will have a maximum of 18% elongation at a2,500 pound pull.

With the exception of the dye setting machine, the other machines usedfor carrying out the process of this invention are well known in thedyeing art. The pad dyeing process 24 can either be exhaust orrecirculating. As will be explained hereinafter, the dye setting machinecan be used for saturated steam setting, superheated steam setting, ordry heat setting, depending on the particular dye being used. The washand rinse step 26 removes any excess dye remaining on webs 22 after thedye has been set. The drying process 28 comprises two steps. Thus an airblast is first used to remove any excess liquid, and circulated hot aircompletely dries the webs. The cooling of the dried webs is carried outby passing them over cooling cans which are conventional in the art.

If desired, the dyed webs can be given a resin coating. This is optionalwith the particular web being used. The resin coating serves thefunctions of protection for the web, such as for the purpose ofresisting abrasion, and to give more body to the material. Any of thewell known resins used for this purpose, such as arcrylic resins, can beused. The resin is cured in a two-step process 34. The first stepcomprises a hot air blast and the second step comprises hot aircirculation. The resin is then cooled on conventional cooling rolls.

As best seen in FIGS. 1, 4, and 4A, dye setting machine 20 basicallycomprises a housing 38, an inlet door 40, an outlet door 42 and steamchambers 44 and 46 adjacent the inlet and outlet doors, respectively.The housing 38 is supported by four vertical beams 48 which are spacedby horizontal beams 50.

Referring now to FIG. 4A it is seen that chamber 46 has an outervertical wall 52 which is part of housing 38 and an inner vertical wallformed by plate 54. As seen in FIG. 4A and FIG. 5, housing 38 has allthe walls thereof thermally insulated with insulation material 56. Anyconventional insulation material, such as fiber glass mats, can be used.

Door 42 is hinged to vertical wall 52 of housing 38 and covers opening58 in the wall. Door 42 is also thermally insulated as shown at 60. Thedoor is held closed by pivotable latches 62 having fingers 64 adapted toengage flanges 66 of vertical wall 52. The door is additionally lockedclosed by turnscrews 68 which are conventional in the art. The purposeof doors 40 and 42 is to gain access to the interior of the machine forthreading webs 22 therethrough.

As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4A, vertical plate 54 is provided with aplurality of horizontally and vertically aligned holes through whichtubes 70 project. These tubes are welded in place, thereby sealingchamber 46 from the central interior chamber 72 of housing 38. Outsideof the openings for tubes 70 there are no other openings connectingchamber 46 with interior chamber 72.

Four vertically aligned rollers 74 are mounted in chamber 46. As seen inFIG. 3, these rollers are mounted on shafts 76 which are in turnrotatably mounted in bearings 78. Bearings 78 are mounted on beams 48 bybolts 80. As seen in FIG. 3, each bearing comprises a gasket 82, a firstring 84 which houses a sealing ring 86, a spacer ring 88, and a thirdring 90 which houses outer race 92, balls 94 and inner race 96. Althoughthe specific bearing assembly 78 is used for the shafts 76, any otherbearing assembly known to the art can be substituted.

A horizontal pipe 98 extends across the bottom of chamber 46. Pipe 98 ismounted in beam 48 by a con ventional collar and coupling 100. As bestseen in FIG. 3 the top of pipe 98 is provided with a plurality of spacedopenings 102. The purpose of pipe 98 is to introduce steam underpressure into chamber 46. As seen in FIG. 3, a pipe 104 mounted in top106 of housing 38 is in communication with the interior of chamber 46. Asafety valve 108 is mounted on pipe 104. Thus, when the pressure of thesteam in chamber 46 should exceed a predetermined maximum, safety valve108 will automatically open, thereby lowering the pressure within thechamber.

As seen in FIGS. 4 and 4A, tubes 70 extend through out the entire lengthof central chamber 72 of housing 38. Thus, these tubes are closedthroughout the central portion and each has one end in communicationwith chamber 46 and the other end in communication with chamber 44. Fora purpose to be described hereinafter, tubes 70 are inclined downwardlyin going from chamber 44 to chamber 46.

Chamber 44 is similar in structure to chamber 46. Thus chamber 44includes an outer vertical wall 110 and an inner vertical wall definedby plate 112. Tubes 70 pass through holes in plate 112 that are alignedboth vertically and horizontally. Each of the tubes 70 is welded tovertical plate 112, thereby sealing the plate from the central portion72 of the housing. Inlet door 40 seals opening 114 in wall 110 andincludes latches 116 and turnscrews 118. A steam inlet pipe 120 which issimilar to pipe 98 projects across the entire bottom of chamber 44. Pipe120 is provided with a plurality of openings 122 (one shown) fordelivering the steam across the entire width of the chamber. As seen inFIG. 1, chamber 44 is also provided with a pipe 124 having a safetyvalve 126. Chamber 44 is also provided with four vertically alignedrollers 128. These rollers are substantially identical to rollers 74 inchamber 46 and have shafts which are journalled in vertical beams 48.

As seen in FIG. 4, webs 22 enter chamber 44 by passing through sealassembly 130. This seal assembly will be described in greater detailhereinafter. Its purpose is to permit the entery of webs 22 into chamber44 while at the same time effectively sealing the chamber in order tomaintain a superatmospheric pressure therein.

As seen in FIG. 3 five aligned webs 22 enter the machine and passtherethrough simultaneously. Referring again to FIG. 4, it is seen thatwebs 22 after passing through seal assembly (FIG. 15) enter uppermosttubes 70. As seen in FIG. 4A, after passing through uppermost tubes 70,webs 22 pass around uppermost roller 74 and back through the seconduppermost tubes 70. Referring again to FIG. 4, after passing through thesecond uppermost tubes 70, webs 22 pass around uppermost roller 128 inchamber 44. In a similar manner, webs 22 pass back and forth fromchamber 44 to chamber 46 by passing through tubes 70 and around rollers128 and 74. Eventually, webs 22 pass through lowermost tubes 70 into thechamber 46 and out through seal assembly 132 which is identical instructure to seal assembly 130. Seal assembly 132 is mounted in verticalwall 52 of chamber 46.

In the embodiment shown, rollers 128 and 74 are merely idler rollers.However, if desired, these rollers can be driven to vary the tensionwithin the dye setting machine in order to have it differ from thetension throughout the remainder of the process. As seen in FIG. 3, thealignment of webs 22 is maintained by vertical rods 134 which arepositioned in front of tubes 70. The tops of rods 134 are mounted inhorizontal bar 136 and the bottoms of rods 134 are mounted in horizontalbar 138. Horizontal bar 136 is in turn mounted on angle brackets 140which are bolted to beams 48 and horizontal bar 138 is mounted on anglebrackets 142 which are also bolted to beams 48. As seen in FIG. 3, allof the rods 134 are parallel and are arranged in pairs. Each pair isspaced apart a distance slightly greater than the width of a single web22. Similar vertical rods 144 are supported by bars 146 and 148 inchamber 44. Thus, in passing through the machine, each web 22 will passbetween a pair of rods 134 (FIG. 3) and a similar pair of rods 144. Inthis way, the alignment of the webs is maintained.

As seen in FIGS. 4, 4A and 5, a pair of parallel horizontal braces 150extend along the entire bottom 152 of central portion 72 of housing 38.As seen in FIG. 5, each brace 150 is U-shaped and has the bridgingsection 154 uppermost. Mounted on braces 150 are a plurality of alignedpairs of U-shaped brackets 155. The bridging sections of brackets 156are lowermost and are secured to the bridging section 154 of braces 151A pair of electric resistance heater bars 158 are bolted to each pair ofbrackets 156. As seen in FIG. 5, heater bars 158 extend acrosssubstantially the entire width of housing 38. The heater bars 158 areelectrically insulated from the remainder of the machine. This can beaccomplished by either physically insulating the bars from brackets 156or, in the embodiment shown, the brackets 156 can be made of anon-conducting material, such as ceramic.

A plurality of electric fans 160 are mounted in the lower portion ofcentral portion 72. As seen in FIG. 5, these fans are driven by electricmotors 162 which are mounted on side 164 of housing 38. This mounting isaccomplished through brackets 166 which are bolted and welded to side1'64 and support motors 162. The motor shafts 168 pass through openings170 in the side 164.

A concave baflle 172 extends from brace 150 farthest from fans 160 toside 174 of housing 38. A horizontal bafile plate 176 extends along theentire length of central section 72. The ends of plate 176 are bentdownwardly to form flanges 178 (FIG. 4) and 180 (FIG. 4A). As seen inFIGS. 4 and 4A, flanges 178 and 189 are welded to vertical plates 112and 54, respectively, thereby supporting bafile plate 176. As seen inFIG. 5, baffle plate 176 is spaced inwardly from walls 174 and 164. Asfurther seen in FIG. 5, the edge 182 of baflle plate 176 which isadjacent wall 174 is convex upwardly. Edge 184 of bafile plate 176 whichis adjacent wall 164 is concave upwardly.

Bafile plate 176 is positioned below all of the tubes 70 and is parallelthereto. In use, when fans 160 are operating, they will circulate air inthe direction of arrows 186. Thus, as seen in FIG. 5, air will beimpelled from fans 160 across heaters 158 toward wall 174. The air isthen turned upwardly with the help of bafiie plate 172 and convex edge182. This forces the air to circulate around tubes 70. The path of theair is then back to fans 160 across concave edge 184. The fans will notcause any substantial increase in pressure within the chamber formed incentral portion 72, since any excess air can escape through openings 170around motor shafts 168.

In use, webs 22 which were just previously dyed in pad dyer 24 are fedinto dye setting machine 20. When the webs are used for making seatbelts, they are usually woven from synthetic fibers which have greattensile strength. Thus, polyester fibers, such as Dacron, or nylonfibers are most generally used. The most common of the synthetic fiberdyes must be set by saturated steam. In the prior art this steam was fedinto chambers maintained at atmospheric pressure. Extensive time wasrequired for the setting of the dye. Using the machine of thisinvention, saturated steam can be used at superatmospheric pressure.Thus a steam pressure of up to fourteen pounds per square inch gage canbe maintained in the machine of this invention. Under normal operatingconditions it has been found that saturated steam pressures of 1.3pounds per square inch gage to 2.3 pounds per square inch gage giveexcellent results. These pressures give steam temperatures of from 216F. to 219 F., respectively.

One of the critical features of most of the synthetic fiber dyes is thatthey must be set with saturated steam. Thus, if wet steam were used, thecondensation of moisture on the interior of the setting machine housingand subsequent dripping of this moisture onto the dyed web will resultin water spots. The use of superheated steam,

although it would set the dye faster, also has disadvantages because itwould likewise dry the dye, thereby giving an imperfect appearance ofthe dyed product. The use of saturated steam under pressure permitseffective setting of the dye while at the same time obtaining a shortersetting time. This is because higher temperatures are obtained withoutthe accompanying drying of the dye which would occur when usingsuperheated steam.

The steam that is used in the machine of this invention is fed throughpipe 98 into chamber 46. Suitable pressure and temperature controls areprovided for the steam. Thus the pressure control is shown schematicallyat 188 in FIG. 1 and the temperature of the steam is recorded at 190 inFIG. 1. Any of the controls well known in the art, such as Foxborocontrols, may be used. The steam, which is admitted under predeterminedpressure, will then rise in chamber 46 and pass into tubes 70. Since thetubes are inclined upwardly and since the hot steam will rise, the steamwill pass upwardly through the tubes toward chamber 44. However, inorder to equalize the pressure in chamber 44, steam is also fed intothis chamber through pipe 120. The steam entering chamber 44 is at thesame pressure as that entering chamber 46. Therefore, once equilibriumhas been reached the pressure throughout machine 29 can be maintainedconstant. The temperature of the steam can be determined from meter 190.

Once equilibrium has been reached, the walls of tubes 70 should be atsubstantially the same temperature as the temperature of the incomingsteam. This is because the walls are metallic and will readily conductthe heat from the steam. However, in order to insure that the walls ofthe tubes are maintained at the same tempera ture as the steam, metallicelectric resistance heaters 158 are provided. When these heaters areturned on, fans will circulate the heat produced thereby into the airand around tubes 70. As previously pointed out there is no steam incentral portion 72 of housing 38. Thus steam is present solely inchamber 44, chamber 46, and in tubes 70. Only air can pass around thetubes. Therefore, by circulating the heated air around tubes '70, thetemperature of the tubes can be maintained at the same temperature asthe steam. In this way, condensation of the steam on the interior wallsof the tubes is prevented since there is no cold surface on which thesteam can condense. Since condensation is substantially prevented, thereis no fear of water marks forming on the dyed webs.

As seen in FIG. 6, the temperature within tubes 70 is determined bythermometer bulb 192. This bulb rests within a sealed tube 194 which hasone end opening into one of the tubes 70. Thermometer bulb 192 isconnected through lead 196 to Fenwal temperature control 198. A safetyvalve 200 is mounted on tube 194. Safety valve 201) is an additionalprotection and will open if the pressure should become too great withintubes 7 0.

A second thermometer bulb 202 is secured on the exterior of a tube 70which is adjacent to the tube in which thermometer bulb 192 is incommunication. Lead 204- is connected to bulb 202 and passes throughwall 174 of housing 38. Lead 204 is also connected to Fenwal temperaturecontrol 206.

In use, temperature controls 198 and 206 determine the temperature ofthe steam within tubes 70 and the temperature of the walls of tubes 70.In this connection it has been found that the temperatures of the steamand the walls of the tube are relatively constant throughout themachine. Thus, the readings of these temperatures are determinative ofthe temperatures throughout the machine. When it is found that thetemperature of the walls of the tubes is substantially less than thetemperature of the steam within the tubes, the electric resistanceheaters will be turned on and the walls of the tubes are heated untilthey are brought up to the same temperature as the steam. However, aspointed out above, for low steam pressures it has been found that theWalls of the tubes are heated sufficiently by the steam itself toobviate the necessity of using the auxiliary electric heaters. Theinsulation of housing 38 prevents the tubes 70 from cooling down.

Even with the precautions mentioned above, it is still found that insome instances the steam will condense on the walls of the tubes. Insuch instances, the condensed moisture will roll down the walls of thetubes to the base of the tubes. In view of the fact that the tubes areinclined, the condensed moisture will then move toward the lower ends ofthe tubes which exit in chamber 46. The moisture is then convenientlyremoved from chamber 46 by inclined troughs 208 which are secured toeach horizontal row of tubes (see FIGS. 3 and 4A). The moisture which iscollected in the troughs will then flow into vertical collecting tubes21% which are mounted on the sides of chamber 46. This is best seen withrespect to lowermost tube 208 in FIG. 3. The water collected in tubes210 is then deposited on inclined floor 212 of chamber 46. From therethe water will pass into pipe 214. Pipe 214 is in turn connected to aconventional steam trap. In this way, none of the steam pressure withinchamber 46 is lost through pipe 214.

Although not shown, troughs similar to troughs 208 can be used on theends of tubes 70 in chamber 44. Under most circumstances the condensedmoisture will move downwardly through the tubes into chamber 46.However, if any turbulence should occur in the steam, the moisture canbe forced out of the upper ends of the tubes 70. For this reason thetroughs may also be used in chamber 44. Condensed moisture within thechamber will pass through pipe 216 which also has a steam trap thereon.

The use of the tubes in combination with the troughs 208 has been foundto be particularly advantageous in the setting of the dye. Thus if anycondensation should result, the moisture will roll down the sides of thetubes and be collected in the bottoms of the tubes. There is littledanger of the condensed moisture dripping on the dyed webs, therebygetting water marks. Likewise when there is a moisture buildup withinthe tubes, the moisture will flow to the ends of the tubes and becollected in troughs 208 where it is safely carried to the sides ofchamber 46. Thus, it is again seen, there is no fear of the condensedwater dripping on the dyed webs. These double safety features have beenfound to be extremely effective. In the prior art, where the dye was setat atmospheric pressure with saturated steam, it was found that steamwould condense on the top of the setting chamber and would eventuallydrip off onto the dyed fabric, thereby getting water marks. This problemis substantially completely obviated by the machine of this invention.

As seen in FIG. 16 a portion of the electric resistance heaters 158 usedin this invention is shown schematically. For the purpose ofillustration, heaters 158 have been specifically numbered as 218, 220,222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, 234, 236, 238, 240, 242, 244, 246 and 248,respectively. Thus sixteen heaters have been shown as being exemplary ofthe wiring arrangement for the heaters. Lead lines 250, 252, 254, 256,258 and 260 supply the current for two-thirds of the heaters used. Leadlines 262, 264 and 266 supply the current for one-third of the heatersused. By way of example, it is seen that when current is passed throughlines 252 and 254, heaters 222, 224, 228 and 230, among others, will beenergized. Likewise, when current is passed through lines 262 and 264,heaters 226 and 232, among others, will be energized. By a similaranalysis it is seen that out of every six heaters, four of them will beenergized by upper leads 250, 252, 254, 256, 258 or 260 and two of themwill be energized by leads 262, 264 or 266. In this way, two-thirds ofthe heaters and one-third of the heaters can be independentlycontrolled. Thus, when only a small amount of auxiliary 262, 264 and266. When a slightly greater amount of heat is needed, current will bepassed solely through leads heat is needed, current will be passedsolely through leads 250, 252, 254, 256, 258 and 260. When an extremelylarge amount of heat is needed, current will be passed through all ofthe leads. Since the heaters energized by any set of leads are staggeredaccordingly to a regular pattern, the heat within central chamber 72will be substantially uniform. Although only sixteen heaters have beenshown as being exemplary, obviously the number of heaters can beincreased or decreased depending upon the size and requirements of themachine. For the machine shown, a total of sixty-six bar heaters hasbeen found to be most effective.

Seal assembly is shown in FIG. 15. This seal assembly comprises apressure chamber 268 and a plurality of individual seals 270. Seals 270are arranged in aligned pairs with one of each pair being bolted tolateral wall 272 of chamber 268 and the other being bolted to lateralwall 274 of chamber 268. Additionally, it is seen that the seal boltedto wall 272 projects into chamber 268 and the seal bolted to wall 274extends outwardly of the wall. Chamber 268 is sealed and substantiallypressure tight. As seen in FIGS. 4 and 4A, a pipe 276 is tapped into thebase of the chamber. The purpose of the pipe 276 is to permit theintroduction of air under pressure into chamber 268. In this way thepressure within the chamber 268 can be made to equal the pressure withinchambers 44 and 46. Thus, there will be no pressure drop caused by apressure differential between chambers 44 and 46 and the pressure withinchamber 268 of seal assemblies 130 and 132. In this way, leakage ofsteam out of the machine caused by a drop in pressure, is substantiallyeliminated.

A first embodiment of a seal 270 which is utilizable in seal assembly130 or 132 is shown in FIG. 7. Seal 270 includes a rear chamber 278which tapers inwardly as it approaches the front of the seal. Arectangular plate 280 is secured to the rear edge of chamber 278. Thissecurement is obtained by flanges 282 which are welded to the walls ofchamber 278. Plate 280 is provided with a plurality of holes 284. Boltsare passed through holes 284 in order to secure the seals to chamber268. Bottom wall 286 (FIG. 9) is provided with upturned flanges 288(FIG. 7) which are welded to the side walls 290 of chamber 278. Bottomwall 286 additionally includes a substantially horizontal forwardextension 292. Forward extension 292 is also provided with upturnedflanges 294 (FIG. 7). The forward edge of extension 292 is bentperpendicularly downward to form flange 296.

A horizontal plate 298 projects forwardly of extension 292 and issecured thereto by U-shaped lip 300 which engages flange 296. Theforward portion of plate 298 is bent downwardly, then upwardly to form aU-shaped socket 382. A substantially fiat plastic sheet 304 is mountedon top of plates 292 and 298. Sheet 304 is secured in place by bolts 3%which pass through the sheet and its supporting plates. The bolt holesin the sheet are countersunk in order to recess the bolt heads. In thisway the sheet provides a substantially smooth surface. The forwardportion 308 of sheet 304 is bent downwardly and is received in U-shapedsocket 302.

Top wall 316 of chamber 27 8 includes a horizontal extension 312.Extension 312 includes a pair of downwardly projecting side flanges 314(FIG. 10). Flanges 294 of bot tom wall 292 abut flanges 314 and arewelded thereto. EX- tension 312 also includes upwardly projectingvertical flange 316 at the forward edge thereof. A plastic plate 318 issecured to forward extension 312 by countersunk bolts 320. The forwardportion 322 of plate 318 is curved upwardly. Curved plate 324 having aforward U-shaped lip 326 is secured to the top of plastic plate 318 bycountersunk bolts 328. The forward portion 322 of plate 318 is reecivedin lip 326. The rear of plate 324 is bent vertically upwardly to formflange 330.

A pair of laterally spaced parallel plastic blocks 332 are mounted onplastic plate 304. This securement is partially obtained by bolts 334(FIG. 9) which pass through plate 298, plate 304, and into the bottom ofblocks 332. As seen in FIG. 9, blocks 332 rest on plate 304 throughoutits entire length. Referring now to FIG. 8, it is seen that plate 318includes a central portion 336 having a T-extension 338 at its rear. Asbest seen in FIG. 10, blocks 332 are laterally spaced a distance whichis slightly greater than the width of central portion 336 of plate 318.Thus, as seen in FIG. 9, central portion 336 is received between theblocks 332. As further seen in FIG. 9, the T-extension 338 of plate 318rests on the top of blocks 332. If desired, the tops of blocks 332 canbe recessed to receive the T- extension.

A pair of substantially vertical supports 340 are secured on the sidesof blocks 332. Each plate includes an inwardly projecting flange 342 atthe bottom thereof (FIG. A bolt 344 passes through each block 332, plate304, plate 298, and flange 342. Bolts 344 are secured in place byassociated nuts 346. The tops of supports 340 are inwardly offset, asbest seen in FIG. 10, and are provided with a pair of aligned holes. Ashaft 348 having externally threaded ends passes through these holes.The shaft is secured in place by nuts 358 secured on the threaded ends.A pair of coiled compression springs 352 are telescoped over shaft 348.Each of these springs includes a rearwardly extending finger 354 havinga hooked end which engages vertical flange 316 of horizontal section312. Each spring 352 also includes a forwardly extending finger 356which has a hooked end which engages vertical flange 330 of plate 324.

In use, webs of fabric are fed through a pair of aligned seals 27!). Thewebs can be fed through either end of the seals. Thus, as best seen inFIG. 9, by providing the flared curved surfaces of plates 304 and 318,the web can easily be fed into the forward end of the seal. This isaccomplished by merely lifting plate 318 relative to fixed plate 304.After the web has been fed, the plate 318 is automatically returned tothe position shown in FIG. 9 by the pressure of finger 356 of spring352. Thus, it is seen that spring 52 will maintain a continual pressureagainst the plate 318. In this way, seal 278 will be maintained in anormally closed condition. Air leakage through the sides of the seal isprevented by the abutting relation of the sides of plate 318 withplastic blocks 332, as best seen in FIG. 10.

If desired, the web can also be fed through the rear side of seals 270.To facilitate the entry of the web, the portions of the plates 318 and384 which are located between blocks 334 are provided with rear bevellededges 358 and 360, respectively. In order to facilitate the insertio ofthe web 22 from either end of the seal, a long narrow strip f rigidsheet metal can be bent in half and the leading edge of the web 22placed within the bent metal. The rigid bent metal can then be. forcedthrough a pair of aligned seals. 'Once the metal has been pulled throughthe seals, it is removed and the web can then be continued along itspath in the machine or throughout the remainder of the process.Generally, one width of material will be continually used in themachine. For a width of 2% inches, the normal width of a seat belt web,blocks 332 will be spaced a distance slightly greater than 2 /8 inches.Thus the possibility of leakage is substantially lessened since thereare no openings in the seal other than the opening needed to accommodatethe web being passed therethrough. When using widths that aresubstantially smaller or greater than 2% inches, seals of differentsizes can be used.

Plates 384 and 318 and blocks 332 are made of a heat resistant plastichaving a low coeflicient of friction. Additionally, the plastic must besufficiently flexible to permit it to yield under the pressure of spring352. A plastic which has been found to be particularly useful for thisinvention is Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene). This plastic is desirablebecause of its high heat resistance, extremely low coefficient offriction, and the fact that it is almost completely chemically inert.Another plastic which may be used under some applications is nylon.

A modified embodiment of a seal which may be used with this invention isgenerally shown at 362 in FIG. 11. Seal 362 is similar to seal 270 inthat it includes a rear chamber 362 having a mounting plate 366 on therear thereof. As seen in FIG. 13, top wall 368 of chamber 364 includes aforward horizontal extension 370. Mounted on extension 37 0 is arectangular plastic plate 372. A rectangular metal plate 374 is mountedon top of plastic plate 372.

The lower wall 276 of chamber 364 includes a forward horiontal extension378. Mounted against extension 378 is the T-extension 380 (FIG. 12) oflower plastic plate 382. As further seen in FIG. 12, plastic plate 382includes a forward rectangular section 384. A pair of spaced parallelmetallic blocks 386 are mounted against the bottom of plastic plate 372.The rear undersurfaces of blocks 386 are recessed to receive the outerextremities of T-extension 380, as best seen in FIG. 11. As is alsoapparent from FIG. 11, the sides of horiontal extensions 370 and 378 ofchamber 364 terminate inwardly of blocks 386. A rectangular metallicplate 388 which is approximately equal in size and shape to T-extension380 of plastic plate 382 is mounted under and against the T-extension.Two pairs of aligned bolts 390 pass through aligned holes in plate 374,plate 372, blocks 386, T-extension 380 and plate 388. These bolts aresecured in place by nuts 392 (FIG. 13). As previously pointed out,extensions 370 and 378 are spaced inwardly of blocks 386, and thereforebolts 390 will not pass through the extensions.

As best seen in FIG. 14, blocks 386 are spaced a distance which isslightly greater than the width of horizontal portion 384 of plate 382.As seen in FIG. 13, horizontal extension 384 is movable relative toplate 372. In this manner, rectangular portion 384 performs the samesealing function as the forward portion 336 of plate 318 of seal 278.Coiled compression springs 394 hold rectangular portion 384 of plate 382resiliently in place. Thus it is seen that a cylindrical rod 396 ispositioned below plate 382. Rod 396 is provided with outer recesses 398(FIG. 14) which receive blocks 386. Thus, the upper surface of rod 396can force plate 382 into close abutment with plate 372 withoutinterference from blocks 386, as seen in FIG. 14.

Shafts 488 are threadedly secured in cylinder 396 and pass throughaligned openings in blocks 386, plate 372 and plate 374. Springs 394 aretelescoped over these shafts. Nuts 402 are threadedly received on thetops of shafts 408. It is thus seen that the tension on springs 394 canbe increased or decreased by the appropriate rotation of nuts 402 onshafts 400. Since the shafts 400 are fixedly secured to cylinder 396 andare freely slidable in blocks 386, plate 372 and plate 374, theincreasing of the tension on springs 394 will in turn increase thepressure of plate 382 against plate 372. In this way an effective sealcan be maintained, and the pressure on the seal can be varied dependingupon the thickness of the web passing through the seal. If desired, asecond pair of nuts can be added to shafts 488 above nuts 402. Thesesecond nuts can serve as lock nuts in order to insure that the tensionon springs 394 will not inadvertently be varied once it is set.

Bolts 484 pass through aligned holes in plate 374, plate 372, blocks 386and crossbar 486 in order to give additional stability to the seal.Bolts 404 are secured in place by associated nuts 408. Additionally,bolts 410 pass through aligned holes in plates 374 and 372 and arethreadedly received in blocks 386 to further stabilize the seal.

Seal 362 is used in substantially the same manner as seal 270. The onlyopening into the interior of the seal is through the resiliently mountedplate 382. The threading of the web within the seal is carried out inthe same manner as the threading of seal 270. However, when it isdesired to thread the web through the front of the seal,

it is necessary to first lower the tension on springs 394. This isaccomplished by rotating nuts 402 upwardly at shafts 400. Thisfacilitates forcing the front of plate 382 downward, thereby providingfor the easy insertion of the web through the front of the seal. Oncethe web has been inserted, the tension on the springs is again increasedto the desired degree in order to insure free slid. ability of the webwhile at the same time insuring an effective seal against steam leakageand a resultant loss in pressure.

In seal 362, plates 372 and 382 are made of a heat resistant plasticwith a low coefficient of friction. Again, Teflon is a preferredmaterial. All of the metallic parts of seals 270 and 362 are preferablymade of stainless steel in view of the fact that the seals will becontinually contacted by steam. Thus, stainless steel is preferredbecause of its rust resistance.

In FIGS. 4 and 4A it is seen that the individual seals of each sealassembly face inwardly with respect to their respective Chambers 44 and46. The reason for this is that it has been found that this arrangementprovides a more effective pressure seal. Thus there is no buildup ofsteam pressure within chambers 278, which would occur if the steam werein direct contact with the chambers. As previously pointed out, whendesired, air under pressure can be fed into chamber 268 of each sealassembly in order to obtain an equal pressure between chambers 44 and 46and the interiors of the seal assemblies. When the dye setting machineis used at low pressures, complete seal assemblies 130 and 132. may notbe necessary. Thus, instead of having pairs of spaced seals mounted on apressure chamber, single seals mounted on a plate may be used. In thisway, the web 22 will pass through only one seal, instead of two, inentering machine 20 and pass through only one seal on leaving machine20.

Either seal 270 or seal 362 may be used on the machine of thisinvention. Each of these seals enjoys its own specific advantages. Withrespect to seal 270, it can be seen that the web can easily be insertedfrom either end of the seal. Thus, all that is necessary is to liftupper plate 318 against the pressure of spring 352 in order to insertthe web through either end. Additionally, the flared front of the platesin seal 270 aid in the sliding of the web inwardly from the front of theseal.

The main advantage of seal 362 is that the spring tension is adjustableby adjusting nuts 402. Thus, if it is found that there is a great dealof resistance to the sliding of the web over the plastic plates, thespring tension can be lessened. Likewise, if it is found that there is agreat deal of leakage around the web, the spring tension can beincreased.

It can be seen by reference to the aforementioned December 1962 issue ofTextile World Magazine that there are numerous reactive dyes presentlyin use for the dyeing of synthetic fibers and materials woven from thesefibers. In fact, the dyeing art is expanding every day. Even with thepresent knowledge of synthetic fiber dyes, it has been found that thesedyes can be set under varying conditions, depending on the exact natureof the dye. Thus, although the majority of dyes are now set withsaturated steam there are other dyes that can be set with superheatedsteam and still others which can be set with intensive dry heat. Themachine of this invention is adapted for use with any one of these dyes.Thus, as explained above, the machine of this invention can be used bysupplying saturated steam under pressure for setting the dyes. Ifdesired, after saturated steam is supplied under pressure, the steam canbe superheated by the use of the electrical resistance heaters. Thus byheating the air around tubes 70 to a higher temperature than thetemperature of the steam being fed under pressure, the steam can besuperheated. In some instances, the dye can be set merely by the use ofdry heat. Here again, the dyed webs will be fed through tubes 70.However, no steam will be admitted to the tubes. Instead, all of theheat will be generated by the electric resistance heaters and heated airwill be circulated around tubes 70, thereby heating the tubes. This inturn will cause the heating of the air within the tubes and thesubsequent setting of the dye on the webs.

The speed of travel of the dyed webs through the machine of thisinvention will normally range from 5 to 35 yards per minute, with anaverage speed of 20 yards per minute. The actual speed for any given runwill generally depend on the color of the dye being used. Thus, forlight colors, a faster speed will be used and for dark colors, a slowerspeed will be used.

Although the seals have been described for use in the dye settingmachine of this invention, it is to be understood that these seals canbe used for any pressure vessel through which continuous webs are to befed. Thus these seals will find utility in many machines other than thatspecifically disclosed.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate myinvention, that others may, by applying current or future knowledge,adopt the same for use under various conditions of service.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A machine for treating fabric comprising a housing, an entrancechamber and an exit chamber within said housing, each of said chambersbeing sealed from a central chamber in said housing by a substantiallyvertical wall, a plurality of conduits passing through said centralchamber and each of said vertical walls, said conduits each having oneend in communication with said entrance chamber and the other end incommunication with said exit chamber, said conduits being downwardlyinclined in going from said entrance chamber to said exit chamber, andmeans for introducing a fluid under pressure into said entrance and exitchambers.

2. The machine of claim 1 and further including troughs mounted adjacentthe lower ends of said conduits whereby any liquid in said conduits willbe collected in said troughs.

3. The machine of claim 2 wherein said troughs are inclined and emptyinto at least one collection conduit.

4. The machine of claim 3 wherein said exit chamber has an inclinedfloor, with the liquid in said collection conduit adapted to bedeposited on said floor and withdrawn through withdrawal means in saidfloor.

5. The machine of claim 1 and further including seal means through whichsaid fabric will pass when entering said entrance chamber and seal meansthrough which said fabric will pass when leaving said exit chamber.

6. The machine of claim 5 wherein each of said seal means comprises ahousing having a pair of plates at one end thereof, said plates beingresiliently urged into an abutting relationship, said fabric passingthrough said plates.

7. The machine of claim 6 wherein each of said plates comprises aplastic having a low coefiicient of friction.

8. The machine of claim 6 wherein one of the said plates is fixed andthe other of said plates is spring urged into abutment with said one ofsaid plates.

9. The machine of claim 8 wherein said spring urged plate has a widthwhich is slightly greater than the width of the fabric being passedtherethrough, with the lateral edges of said spring urged plate passingbetween a pair of aligned parallel blocks, said blocks being spaced adistance slightly greater than the width of said fabric.

10. The machine of claim 9 wherein said blocks comprise a plastic havinga low coefiicient of friction.

11. The machine of claim 5 wherein each of said seal means comprises apressure housing, a pair of aligned fabric seals mounted on oppositewalls of said pressure housing, and means for introducing a fluid underpressure into said pressure housing.

12. The machine of claim 5 wherein each of said seal means comprises ahousing, a pair of plates mounted on the forward portion of saidhousing, said plates being spaced from each other and converging in adirection away from said housing, said plates abutting along a linespaced from said housing, and spring means forcing said plates intoabutment, said spring means being adjustable.

13. A machine for treating fabric comprising a housing, an entrancechamber and an exit chamber within said housing, each of said chambersbeing sealed from a central chamber in said housing by a substantiallyvertical wall, a plurality of conduits passing through said centralchamber and each of said vertical walls, said conduits each having oneend in communication with said entrance chamber and the other end incommunication with said exit chamber, and at least one roller in each ofsaid entrance and exit chambers whereby said fabric follows a tortuouspath through said conduits by passing from said entrance chamber throughone of said conduits to said exit chamber, around said roller in saidexit chamber, back through a second of the said conduits, around saidroller in said entrance chamber and back through a third of saidconduits to said exit chamber.

14. A machine for treating fabric comprising a housing, an entrancechamber and an exit chamber within said housing, each of said chambersbeing sealed from a central chamber in said housing by a substantiallyvertical wall, a plurality of conduit-s passing through said centralchamber and each of said vertical walls, said conduits each having oneend in communication with said entrance chamber and the other end incommunication with said exit chamber, means within said central chamberfor circulating air around said conduits, means for heating said air,said heating means comprising a plurality of electric resistanceheaters, said heaters being mounted on the floor of said centralchamber, and baflie means for directing the flow of air around saidconduits, said bafile means including a horizontal plate mounted betweensaid heaters and said conduits.

15. A machine for treating fabric comprising a first chamber and asecond chamber, said chambers being spaced from each other, a pluralityof conduits passing between said chambers and being secured thereto,said conduits each having one end in fluid communication with said firstchamber and the other end in fluid communication with said secondchamber, said conduits being downwardly inclined in going from saidfirst chamber to said second chamber, and means for introducing a fluidunder pressure into said chambers.

16. The machine of claim 15 and further including troughs mountedadjacent the lower ends of said conduits whereby any liquid in saidconduits will be collected in said troughs.

17. The machine of claim 16 wherein said troughs are inclined and emptyinto at least one collection conduit.

18. The machine of claim 15 and further including seal means throughwhich said fabric will pass when entering said first chamber and sealmeans through which said fabric will pass when leaving said secondchamber.

19. The machine of claim 18 wherein each of said seal means comprises ahousing including a pair of plates, said plates being resiliently urgedinto an abutting relationship, said fabric passing through said plates.

20. The machine of claim 19 wherein one of the said plates is fixed andthe other of said plates is spring urged into abutment with said one ofsaid plates.

21. The machine of claim 18 wherein each of said seal means comprises apressure housing, a pair of aligned fabric seals mounted on oppositewalls of said pressure housing, and means for introducing a fluid underpressure into said pressure housing.

22. The machine of claim 15 and further including means for guiding aplurality of narrow belts of said fabric back and forth through saidconduits.

23. The machine of claim 22 wherein said conduits are vertically andhorizontally aligned, and said guide means comprises a pair ofvertically spaced bars positioned in front of each series of verticallyaligned conduits.

24. A machine for treating fabric comprising a first chamber and asecond chamber, a plurality of conduits passing between said chambersand being secured thereto, said conduits each having one end in fluidcommunication with said first chamber and the other end in fluidcommunication with said second chamber, and at least one roller in eachof said first and second chambers whereby said fabric will follow atortuous path through said conduits by passing from said first chamberthrough one of the conduits to said second chamber, around said rollerin said second chamber, back through a second of said conduits to saidfirst chamber, around said roller in said first chamber, and backthrough a third of said conduits to said second chamber.

25. The machine of claim 24 and further including means for introducinga fluid under pressure into said chambers.

26. A machine for treating fabric comprising a housing, a plurality ofvertically and horizontally aligned conduits within said housing, achamber within said housing through which said conduits pass, means forcirculating a fluid in said chamber and around said conduits, means forguiding a plurality of narrow belts of said fabric back and forththrough said conduits, said guide means comprising a pair of verticallyspaced bars positioned in front of each series of vertically alignedconduits, and rollers around which said narrow belts of fabric will passin order that said fabric will pass back and forth through saidconduits.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,029,866 6/1912 Haskell 8-151 X2,304,474 12/1942 Poesl 8-l51 X 2,344,557 3/1944 Mann et al. 68-175 X2,568,920 9/1951 Kinride 685 2,664,010 12/1953 Emerson 68-5 3,285,03711/1966 Valls 68-175 WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,462,977 Dated August 26 1969 Jacob Serbin It is certified that errorappears in the above corrected as shown below:

Cancel lines 73 and 74 of column 7, beginning with "262," andterminating with "leads", and insert therefor the following text:

--heat is needed, current will be passed solely through leads 262, 264and 266. when a slightly greater amount of-- SIGNED AN'D SEALED APR?Atteat:

Edward M. mm In mum 2:: sum, :3. Anguilla Offlw GOfllbiBaionar ofPatents

